I was on the AT&T Wireless website trying to get an iPhone. However, when I put in my zip code 11231, the site says the iPhone is unavailable. This seemed a little odd so I started punching in other famous zip codes: 90210, 60609 (spiegel catalog), 02134 (zoom, an old children’s show).For theses cities, LA, Chicago, Boston, iPhone is available. Then I looked up some other zip codes: Dallas, Miami, St. Louis, Philadelphia, San Francisco. All those cities are ok. Then I started putting in more NYC zip codes: midtown, Staten Island, the Bronx…no iPhone available.

This is weird…AT&T has cut off New York City.

The reason for cutting off NYC: AT&T’s 3G network cannot handle the traffic created by iPhone users.

Speculation by tech pundits is that Apple is announcing an end to its exclusivity contract with AT&T sometime in 2010, and will likely offer the iPhone through other carriers, Verizon place on top of most people’s lists. If this is true, prepare to see a mass exodus of iPhone users as soon as their 2-year contracts are up. Some are livid enough to jump ship and pay the hefty charge for breaking their contract early.

Some have asked that I share the poem that I wrote for last Sunday’s Christmas for Christ service. Well, here it is, unedited (I even kept the Dave Ramsey part, which was really only for our church’s enjoyment). Hope you like…

Five Days ‘Til Christmas

The hot air of summer had barely subsided
But your sense of relief was greatly misguided
The holidays are coming, we felt in the air
And if you don’t plan ahead, you don’t have a prayer

It started before that time in November
Thanksgiving with loved ones, if you can remember
Turkey and dressing, a minor part of the proceedings
The deals of Black Friday were what we were seeking

Then when WalMart became a place to fear
We knew that Christmastime is finally here
40-inch TVs on-sale for half-price?
For this we would risk our limbs and our life

Adults act like children, screaming and fighting
Do they truly find this season exciting?
iPods and CDs are full of Christmas songs
But not quite enough people are singing along

The stores across town won’t display a manger
To celebrate “Christmas” is too much of a danger
So Happy Rama-Hanu-Kwanz-Mas, to all of the people
Keep your nativity scenes underneath your church steeple

The roads are clogged shut, the wind, bitter cold
Panic is spreading in the young and old
From shoulder to shoulder we shop ‘til we drop
Until every item is crossed, there’s no time to stop

You’ve driven up credit card bills for presents and toys
To give little Tommy and Jainie some holiday joy
For when Christmas morning comes once again
They will trample each other en route to the den

The paper is torn into millions of shreds
As all sense of reason flees from their heads
One hour ago, they were silently dreamin’
Who has taken the children, and replaced them with demons?

The toys are all tossed onto heaps on the floor
It’s over so quickly, there soon is no more
The area surrounding the glorious Christmas Tree
Looks like the location of World War III

The world and its people begin to slow down
There’s no reason to leave or go into town
You can take the time now to love one another
Every son, daughter, father, and mother

Christmas is not about gifts, not the songs, not the crowds
Not money, not trees, or the deals we’ve found
It’s about our dear Savior, robed in flesh for His birth
To pay the price of our sins, to live on past this earth

For the blessings He’s given and for those in our lives
The people who matter when we have nowhere to hide
So take those around you, and let them know they mean more
Than anything Dave Ramsey would ever let you afford

Thank God for our family, our friends, and our health
For a church where His presence can always be felt
For food on our tables and truth in our lives
For countless blessings which cannot be denied

It’s five days ‘til Christmas, but please don’t lose hope
In a world that can change and bow down at His throne
Teach this to your families in Christmas 2009
A little more “ours,” and a little less “mine”

That being said, have fun opening your presents
May the food be filling and conversation pleasant
And if today you have yet to buy a single gift
…Good luck with that

“Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence … from the hour the Pilgrims landed to the present day, events, occurences and tendencies prove that to ensure peace security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable … the very atmosphere of […] […]

I struggle with the holiday season. I’m not going to make the same assertions as many cranky sourpusses, insisting that each holiday season is a fabrication of marketers and Hallmark, but there is little doubt that the holidays have a sinister side. Traffic is worse — drivers become angrier, riskier in their maneuvers, and uglier […]

ryanaustindean

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